When It Rains
by lfangirl111
Summary: Crystal has always admired a one, Jake Marshal, and so one day, when he asks her to a dance, she feels like she's in heaven! Contains literary devices for those who like that type of stuff and almost completely made up of OCs. Enjoy!
1. Sunny Hogsmeade Day

bDisclaimer/b … I disclaim to the world. I don't own Hogwarts. If I did, I wouldn't be using a compie now would I? No, I would be Headmistress and transfiguring the naughty boys into hay pennies.

The air was cold, it being October in Hogsmeade and all. The trees were loosing their leaves; students had started wearing their scarves, although very few seemed to be wearing their cloaks. Their robes were enough as they walked along, laughing happily or teasing each other. It also seemed to be a good time for girls to plot how they were going to corner the one she loves… or at least, is crushing on at the moment.

"Jeremy! Pay attention!" one such girl snapped, her slightly hooded glare intent on the boy sitting beside her in front of the Shrieking Shack.

The Jeremy spoken of finally hit earth, his closed eyes slowly opening until they met the light teal orbs of his best friend. Sighing, he shook his head, shaking away the (at that moment) blue chunks of hair from those beautiful, dark, blue-gray eyes. "Why? Y'gonna make me?" he asked in a lazy, deep voice. With lazy motions, he slid his hands into his pocket, pulling out a thin, pink box. With a flick of his thumb, he slid a single piece of pocky from the box, gripping the little, strawberry covered biscuit stick lightly in his teeth before he replaced the box in his pocket.

"I shouldn't have to make you. We iare/i best friends," she said, watching him play with the pocky, the stick moving up and down casually. He was obviously bored. Not only by the food he never played with iunless/i he was bored, but also be the way he lounged against the rock as if it was the most comfortable place on earth and zoned out every few seconds. "You're not even listening to me."

"What d'ya expect, Cryssy?" he asked, looking away from her and at the building before them. "You come bursting into our dorm at eight this morning shouting about how we needed to get our arses dressed so we could go to Hogsmeade. Even the Teddy snot complained." He began nibbling on the end of the pocky where there was no strawberry coating. "Why don't you ask Kunu or Ari to help you anyway? They're much better at strategizing and stuff… Especially Kunu…"

"That would be because they're off buying our costumes for the dance this weekend. You're the one who sent them off! Besides, you're smarter than them… just lazier than them. Please, listen to me. I really want Jake Marshal to ask me to that dance," she said, ignoring the annoyed look Jeremy gave her.

"So why should he pick you over the rest of the school?" he muttered, receiving no reply as it had gone unheard.

"Should I ask him myself?" she asked absently, reaching into Jeremy's pocket and retrieving the box of pocky he had taken from earlier.

"No you already said that you weren't going to do that," he said, snatching the box back when she went so far as to grab three at once.

"Oh… so you iwere/i listening," she said, looking mildly surprised before she thoughtfully went back to stuffing her face like the pig she was. So he hadn't really been zoning out. Typical Jeremy.

"Every word. Haven't you been talking to this Jake bloke lately? You two are friends, right?"

"Yeah… I've been talking to him and his friends lately… But I don't know what you'd call us. I think it's somewhere between friends and acquaintances. Like a nuisance that I really like?" She looked at him with an eyebrow raised in question. He shrugged in return. She shrugged as well, her mind floating off and her lips turning up into a smirk as she thought of Jake. To anyone passing, her smirk would be offensive, like she was making fun of them. But to those who knew her, she was obviously grinning giddily.

"Alright… But do you know if he might like you or not?"

"Um, why would I know that? I can't read his mind," she replied, rolling her eyes as if he had suggested something completely stupid.

"Okay… then do you think that if someone urged him a bit, he's ask you to the dance?" Crys said nothing. Instead, she gazed off at the Shrieking Shack for a moment, her thoughts somewhere else. And then her lips were pushed up, revealing her teeth for a split second in one of the goofiest grins Jeremy had literally ever seen on her face.

"Aw, Jerry! You'd do that for ime/i? You're such a good friend!" she gushed, turning and throwing her arms around his neck. Caught off guard, his arm gave out beneath him and they tumbled over backwards, Jeremy pinned beneath Crys.

"What?" he gasped, struggling to get his breath back and Crys off him; he had landed squarely on a large rock, the wind knocked from him momentarily. "What are you talking about, Crystal? I didn't say I would do anything!"

"Thank you, thank you, ithank you/i! You're such a good friend talking to Jake and getting him to ask me out!" she said, completely ignoring his gasps.

"I never said—"

"Now what's this all about? Did we interrupt something?" a loud voice asked, and Jeremy bent his head back, his eyes meeting those of his childhood friend, Kuma Nu, or Kunu as everyone and their grandmothers called him. He was smiling wickedly, his teeth flashing in the sunlight that hit them.

"What do you think, Idiot?" Jeremy growled, pushing Crys off him and blushing a bright red as he righted himself.

"Sheesh… I was only joking," Kunu muttered dejectedly, dropping the many shopping bags he'd been carrying and collapsing on the ground between the two as if he was the one who owned the spot. Ari soon followed around the bend, his arms laden down as well, although not as much as Kunu. Obviously Kunu had found someone to show off to. "So what's going on? Why was Crys strangling ya, Jer?" he asked as Ari dropped the bags on Kunu's stack and sat down across from them, the bags separating the group. His eyes were distant, his mind obviously working furiously behind his dark brown eyes.

"I wasn't strangling him, Ku, I was hugging him. There's a difference. And I was hugging him because Jerry graciously volunteered to persuade Jake Marshal to ask me to the dance this Saturday," Crys replied before Jeremy could say a word. He frowned, reluctantly accepting that he was going to be forced into this one way or another… especially since he found it so hard to say a simple no to her.

"Jeremy?" The group looked up to see that Ari's eyes were back to earth and had an expression of utter shock in them. Jeremy felt his hopes stir. If Ari got involved, there was a chance (no matter how small) that he would be able to squeeze out of this. Ari twitched his head, getting the little hair that stuck out beneath the brim of his skull cap out of his pool-like eyes. "iJeremy/i volunteered to go out of his way to talk to the one guy that he highly dislikes just to persuade him to go out with one of his best friends? Are you sure iJeremy/i volunteered, Crys?"

"He's the only one here, isn't he?" she retorted quickly. Jeremy's hoped died instantly as Ari took the response with a shrug, dropping the conversation and returning to his far off state of mind.

"Now, that we've got that settled, do you two wanna see what we bought?" Kunu asked, shaking his head at his best friend. Ari never seemed to touch ground very often.

"Of course," Crys said immediately, the excitement lighting up her light teal eyes and causing her to smirk.

"Good, yours will be first. I think it's the most detailed costume I've ever seen," Kunu said, excitement also affecting him. He couldn't hold still on the ground and so he jumped to his feet, his toe tapping in a specific rhythm. He bent and picked up a long garment bag. Reverantly, he unzipped it, pulling a beautiful white dress from within it. His toe continued to tap.

"Ari picked it out. He said that it's the perfect wedding dress for a soon to be dead bride." Crys stood, her eyes wide with delight and her mouth slightly open in awe. Her hands lingered over the fabric like it was too delicate to touch it. Her reverence for the dress went even beyond Kunu's. Thankfully, no one noticed the bright blush on Jeremy's cheeks as his mind wandered and then was brought back with a start.

"I didn't know something this beautiful even existed…" she breathed, finally getting up the nerve to touch it lightly. The fabric was silken fluid between her fingers. "I love it… But… I don't want to be a dead bride." Ari lifted his head in interest, his eyes slightly hooded as if he'd just woken up from a nap. She looked down at him. "It seems like a shame to mess with it, but I've always wanted to be a ballerina for Halloween and with some alterations, this dress would be beyond perfect. I mean… we could alter the skirt so it's short and ballerina-ish and then we could fix the sleeves… shred them or cap them. You know what I'm talking about, right Ari?"

"Yeah!" he said, perking up instantly. He suddenly looked like he couldn't contain his excitement and his voice went up a pitch. "Yeah, I see it already! That would be awesome, Crys! And I could totally make it. That doesn't take a lot of work."

"I have a feeling you could make anything, Ari," Kunu said teasingly, knowing that he definitely could. Some of Ari's outfit creations surpassed even the most famous clothing designers in the world.

"Thanks, Kunu," Ari said sarcastically, his excitement leaving his face to make way for irritated embarrassment.

"No prob. Oh, and Crys, you might be interested to know that we found a tiara and a set of white ballet slippers. We can pick those up before going to the Three Broomsticks if you want."

"That would be beyond cool," Crys sighed, slowly floating to Jeremy's side and sitting once again, her head immediately resting on his shoulder. He tried to ignore the leap in the pit of his stomach. She always laid her head on his shoulder… It didn't matter.

"Cool. We'll do that. Don't forget, 'K Ari?" But there was no response. Ari was lost in dreamland once again.

"So what did you get for me?" Jeremy finally asked. Although her had sent the guys off to go shopping for all of them, he didn't really trust them all that much. They were usually trying to force him into idiotic things that made him completely uncomfortable and showed off his "awesome body" just a bit more than he liked. He usually won in the argument, but it's always the thought that counts.

"I see the look on your face. Don't worry. You're going to be a vampire," Kunu said, grabbing the closest bag to him and pulling out a long black cape with dark red lining on the inside. "We got you an ancient looking shirt and some black slacks and with your hair slicked back and your teeth that are already in that lazy head of yours, you'll be perfect."

"You two actually did a good job," Jeremy said, slightly impressed. "And it saves me the trouble of being forced to return it."

"You're too lazy, Jerry," Crys muttered as she shifted so that her back was pressed to his chest.

"But would you ever change me?" he asked, leaning back so he was lounging against the rock once again. Now only the small of her back was supported by his side, though she didn't really seem to care. Instead, she braced herself with her arm, smirking down at him reluctantly.

"No. Never," she admitted, turning back to Kunu when he coughed.

"Wanna see my costume?" he asked, sounding even more excited than before… if that were possible.

"Eh… I guess…" Crys said, a teasing glint in her eye. "Tch"-ing them, he reached for the smallest bag of the lot. Jeremy burst into laughter at the look of the bag, his shoulders shaking. Crys' giggles started up then, and Ari broke from his daze.

"What's so funny?" Kunu asked, looking slightly hurt as he stared at the two of them. Jeremy waved for Crystal to explain, tears squeezing from his closed eyes as he continued to laugh.

"Kunu. That bag is so small. If anything was shrunken, then why didn't you shrink the rest?" Crys began, her thoughts obviously scattered as she laughed.

"It isn't shrunk!" he said quickly, sounding offended as Crys and Jeremy broke down into even more giggles. It was uncontrollable on Jeremy's part now. His laughter was contagious, and soon, even confused, little Ari was stifling a grin.

"Kunu… did you buy a speedo? Are you going to be a person at the beach?" Crys managed to ask with a straight face. With the question out, Jeremy rolled onto his side, curling around Crys as he attempted to hold his stomach together. Crys put her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking so hard they looked like they were going to break in half. Ari even laughed, his shocked face mixing with the humor of the situation. Kunu stared at them, stunned. His face seemed to be part of the reason the two clowns couldn't stop laughing. It was like they had personally offended his intelligence.

"It's not that funny…" he grumbled, making the two laugh harder. "Ah… come on guys. Seriously, look. It's not a frickin' speedo!" Kunu said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a pair of cat ears and a belt with a tail on it. The two quieted as they looked at Kunu's "costume". Then they looked to each other. They had a moment of telepathy, and then they broke down again.

"What now?" the tormented Kunu asked desperately, his irritation obvious. Before Crys could say anything, Jeremy spoke up this time. He managed to sit up, his eyes opening as the tears leaked over and down his cheeks. He shook his head once in disbelief before looking up at his angry friend.

"Very brave, Kunu," Jeremy said, his voice cracking. "Personally, I wouldn't have ever dared to go naked with all those girls around. And the teachers! But I'm sure that belt will keep them from questioning too much. Better to have some covering than none at all, right mate?" He burst into laughter again when he met Kunu's glare. Once again, he rolled onto his side, curling around Crys and clutching his stomach like it was going to explode.

"You two are amused way to easily," Kunu grumbled, putting his costume back and sitting down. "And I'm not just going to wear that. I'll have on a black collared shirt and some black slacks." His voice was so dejected that it set everyone off again, Ari snorting in derision. "Shut up, Ari-kins."

When everyone was finally able to breath properly, Crys sat up again and looked to Ari, who had already gotten bored with the situation and was off in another world completely; Jeremy remained curled around her. "So, what does little Ari-kun have for the party? I don't see many bags left."

"It's a simple outfit," Ari said, proving that he was listening tho' his eyes were still far away. "Same as Kuma's tho' mine's all white. We're going to wear ties with the outfits and mine will be black while his is white."

"It's gonna be so cool! We're even going to dye Ari's hair white to match the rest of him. It's gonna be great… the girls are gonna drool," Kunu said, his mouth going a mile a minute. All his pent up energy was starting to make him fidget and so he stood, his foot pounding out the same beat as before. His hand began tapping as well, adding a beat to intermingle with the one in his foot. He was had almost finished writing a drum solo within the space of their conversation… Sometimes Kunu could be amazing.

"How can you be so delusional, Kunu?" Ari asked, finally snapping to earth. His eyes turned to gaze at Kunu, a spark of anger already weaving through the dark pools of chocolate.

"Delusional? What are you talking about?" Kunu asked, confused. What was Ari going on about now?

"You always say girls are going to drool over us, as in including ime/i."

"Well… yeah," Kunu said, still not understanding. "Of course I mean iyou/i and me. Why wouldn't I?"

"Kunu, they might drool over you, but inot/i, under any circumstances, would they drool over me. Only someone who is delusional, as I think you are, could find a girl out there who would drool over me."

"What are you talking about Ari? I'm not delusional. Just today, I saw a couple girls checkin' you out in the costume shop," Kunu said quickly, honestly bewildered by Ari's subtle anger.

"Kunu… those girls weren't checkin' me out. They were staring at me cuz I was looking through the dresses for Crystal." Once again Crys and Jeremy laughed, tho' they didn't laugh as hard as before. Someone had struck a nerve in Ari… well, Kunu had struck a nerve in Kunu. But why? He'd just been talking. It wasn't like he'd been accusing Ari of being the hottest guy on the planet or anything.

"Well… er… anyway. Don't you two have something you should be doing?" Kunu asked, hurriedly diverting the subject to something else entirely.

"No," Jeremy immediately said and receiving a punch in the gut for it. "Er… of course."

"Get on with it then. Come on, Mr. Denial. Let's go get Princess' things and then I'll buy you a butterbeer," Kunu said, picking up his load of bags and starting to head off. He was obviously trying to cheer up "Mr. Denial."

"Fine… But I also want you to buy my some chocolate," Ari said quickly, obviously trying to milk this for what it was worth. There was a grunt of agreement from Kunu as Ari picked up the few bags he had to carry himself and then followed after his friend. There was a moment of silence as the two friends went off and then Crys turned to Jeremy with an excited and nervous smirk pushing up a corner of her mouth.

"Come on, Jerry," she said, grabbing Jeremy's arm and hauling him to his feet as she stood. "Time to persuade Jake."

"Whoopie…"

bA/N/b R/R. Improvement is teh best.


	2. Sunny Hogsmeade Day Part 2

bDisclaimer/b … I disclaim to the world. I don't own Hogwarts. If I did, I wouldn't be using a compie now would I? No, I would be Headmistress and transfiguring the naughty boys into hay pennies.

Ah yes, and "Crys" sounds like "Chris" for those who didn't catch that one. Her full name is Crystal and I shortened it. When you see Jerry call her Cryssy, it equals Chrissie. Got it? Good.

"Why am I doing this?" Jeremy asked, the groan unnoticed by Crys as she weaved through the crowd within the Three Broomsticks, her eyes scanning the room and her hand wrapped tightly around Jeremy's so that she couldn't loose him. She'd learned her lesson the hard way in Zonko's packed shop that Jeremy had a way of disappearing among the crowd of students. "I am such an iidiot/i! iWhy am I doing this/i?"

"Because you're a teenager," someone nearby stated, and Jeremy quickly skirted away from the sections of tables, glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching them. Satisfied, he allowed Crys to pull him deeper into the pub, beating himself up the rest of the time.

"I could write a book. iHow to single handedly tear your own heart into a million shreds/i, by Jeremy Strong."

"There he is!" Crys finally said, stopping in her tracks and pointing straight ahead of her to spot just off from the center of the room. Jake sat among three of his friends, his best friend, recognized as Arthur Merlin, sitting to his right and another soul of no consequence to his left. They were flirting with and entertaining the new girl that Rosemerta had hired on as she was becoming too old to serve tables like she used to. Her name was Lavender Brown and tho' she seemed to have the beauty of Rosemerta, her head was much more empty than the quick witted woman had once been. The tables around the small group seemed to be listening in on the group's conversation, making it an almost pub wide performance. Although Arthur seemed conscious of the many eyes on them, Jake had no earthly idea. It was obvious by the way he unashamedly talked of different things, cracking several jokes only Lavender could appreciate without a single blush. Seeing the gang, Jeremy instantly felt his blood begin to boil. Everything Jake did ground on his nerves until he didn't even want to look at him, let alone talk to him.

"Do you think you can do it?"

She was looking at him hopefully, her normally passive eyes full of the emotion. He felt his will begin to melt… until… quite suddenly… he just couldn't… say… no. Even if it meant ripping his own reputation into miniscule pieces. He had to go talk to Marshal.

"Why am I doing this?" he asked helplessly, making her laugh.

"Because you love me," she said with much more insight than she realized. Jer snorted, giving her the wrong idea. She smirked at him. "I'm gonna find the guys. I'll talk to ya in a bit, K? Thank you so much! I will owe you for life." She went on tip-toe, sweetly kissing him on the cheek before winding her way through the pub to one of the far corners. He didn't see her backtrack and knew that she was sitting with them now.

With nothing more to look at but a wall of people, Jeremy sighed and reluctantly turned towards the table at which Jake sat. As his feet slowly carried him forward, he began to realize just how popular this guy was. From where he stood, Jake Marshal was in a spotlight of eyes with no where for a poor guy to turn. And now, like a lamb to the slaughter, he was going to enter that spotlight and request to speak to the subject of attention? He closed his eyes, trying desperately not to think of the reputation that was going to be ruined after his day. His feet unconsciously stopped at the very edge of the spotlight, still not attracting attention to himself, thankfully. His last second of comfort… Well, it was great while it lasted. He stepped forward.

The outer tables caught on first, their eyes tearing away from the clean-cut, handsome face of Jake Marshal to rest tentatively on the intimidating sexiness of the Ravenclaw punk. Aware of the disdainful, examining eyes on his multiple piercings and blue hair, Jeremy self-consciously reached up and began twirling one such piercing. To those around him, he was flaunting his ability to wear such earrings with perfect ease while still appearing as masculine as they come. A lifetime passed and then he was standing at Jake's shoulder, the boy's attention suddenly caught by the tense silence that surrounded him. He looked momentarily surprised at the sudden appearance, and then he smiled that sweet smile Jeremy hated.

"Hey, Strong," he said. "What's up?" Everything from the ease of his words to the grin of zero malice on his face ground Jeremy's nerves even farther into dust; he had to swallow and tighten his hands into fists to keep his anger in check. He forced a grimace on his face.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" A wave of mutters broke out, fueled more than necessary by Jake's pause. Jeremy reached up, once again twisting the earring in his discomfort. Every eye seemed to examine his hand at work, many of them in awe as to the amount of coolness that can emanate from just one person. After quickly glancing at his friends, Jake shrugged and nodded at a chair off to Jeremy's right. Wordlessly, Jeremy sat, the climax in words around him making his hands clam up.

"What can I get you?" Lavender asked in a sweet, airy voice, her hands resting on her hips to accent her mild curves.

"Just a butterbeer," he managed to say in a completely uncaring voice. What was he doing? Why was he sitting here next to Marshal about to ask him if he were taking anyone to the dance Saturday? He had to be insane. There was no other explanation!

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Marshal asked, his blond hair falling momentarily across his eyes. With a flick of his head, he pushed it away. Unconsciously, Jeremy reached into his pocket and, in one fluid motion, retrieved his box of strawberry pocky and pulled one out with his teeth.

"Just helping a friend," he replied, the stick wagging between his teeth as he examined the few remains within the box. "Want one?" Marshal paused, examining the pocky cautiously.

"What is it?" he asked, reaching in with two fingers and taking one.

"Called Pocky… It's like a strawberry candy," Jeremy replied lazily, glancing into the box sadly and taking the last one. Lavender arrived with the drinks as he threw the box down on the table. She gave him a fake smile, and then turned to Arthur on the other side of Jake, leaving the two to talk.

"Eh… it's not bad," Marshal muttered when his bit was gone, and then, he looked Jeremy in the face. "So, how is talking to me going to help your friend?" Jeremy didn't answer at first, using the butterbeer as an excuse to think it over. He lifted the glass to his lips, tilting it slightly and allowing the warm liquid to rush over his tongue, warming his entire body.

"Well, it's more like saving my arse from harassement really. So… you going to the dance with anyone this Saturday?" he finally asked, lazily lounging back in his chair and running a finger around the rim of the bottle. A buzz started up around them, telling of the many ears that were enjoying their conversation.

"Crys sent you, didn't she?" Jake asked with a smirk, knowing the answer already. Jeremy nodded lowly.

"Yeah. Crys sent me." The whispers increased even more, if that were possible, the low buzz getting to Jeremy as he lounged there. His foot nervously picked up a beat that he'd heard Kunu patting against his thigh earlier.

"That's hilarious. Yeah, I iwas/i going to ask someone to the dance. Today, in fact." The smirk never left Marshal's face, even as he sipped his butterbeer. He tilted backward in his chair, completely at ease.

"Really? Who's the lucky girl?" Jeremy asked, lifting his butterbeer to his lips unconsciously, his stormy gray-blue eyes never leaving Marshal. The smirk switched to a small smile, his eyes gentle. He looked like he was sharing a personal joke with himself.

"I was going to ask out your friend, Crystal."

Jeremy gasped into his drink, choking on it. Slamming the cup down, he bent forward dramatically, trying to breathe again with difficulty; his eyes watered. Everyone looked to him without an ounce of subtlety. Startled, Jake's brace against the table slipped and he fell forward. "ibWhat/i/b?" he finally asked, turning his glare fully on Marshal. He reeled back, eyes wide. It was at moments like these that he looked the most like a vampire.

"C-Crys. I was going to ask her today, b-but every time I tried, you two were together. I didn't know if you were a couple of not so I finally just gave up. I was going to ask her about it when it came up again…"

"We are inot/i a couple," Jeremy choked out, his glare turning to his fists as he forced himself to say the words. "Trust me. Ask her as soon as you can, though, because when I get a hold of her, she isn't going to be alive much longer."

"What?" Marshal's eyes seemed to get wider and he visibly leaned away from Jeremy. It was hard to tell how serious he really was.

"Nothing… nothing. How about this, if I can get her alone, will you ask her to the dance?"

"Of course," Jake said, a flash of excitement went through his sky blue eyes. Forgetting his fear the moment before, he leaned forward, coming half out of his chair in his excitement. Jeremy stood as well, his hand bracing himself against the table. The people around them were completely silent, many of the girls gazing at Jake in fearful curiosity.

"She'll meet you in front of the Shrieking Shack. If there's people there, just hide and make weird sounds and they'll run for their lives," Jeremy said quickly. Jake nodded, a smile breaking across his face. And then, they split, Jeremy weaving his way through the crowded pub to the corner table where he knew his friends would be, while Jake headed out into the cool October day. Ari and Crys were laughing at something Kunu had said when Jer arrived, completely breathless. Not giving an explanation, he took hold of Crys' arm, pulling her out of her seat and back through the pub to the street.

"Jerry!" she cried sharply, trying to put her cloak on as she was dragged down the street. Kunu and Ari followed, curiosity on their faces, although neither looked like he cared enough to try catching up. "Jerry! What are you doing?"

"You're about to love me," he said over his shoulder.

"You talked to him?" she asked excitedly, her hand beginning to sweat in his. His lips twitched but didn't manage to reveal the meager smile. He decided not to answer, though, instead vaulting her towards the Shrieking Shack as soon as they were close. His aim was true, she flew forward, falling in all her grace at Jake Marshal's waiting feet. Before he could witness anything sickeningly mushy, Jeremy dove behind the rock he'd been lounging against earlier, his head falling backwards as his breathing slowed.

"Crys? Where'd you come from?" Jake Marshal asked, surprise in his voice. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"The sky, cuz you know I'm an angel," she replied with a laugh. Jake laughed as Jer smiled. Typical Crys. This was one of the many reasons why he liked her so much. "So… Apparently, you wanted to see me." Jake laughed again.

"Yeah. I actually wanted to know if you were going with anyone to the dance," he said, proving his nervousness, seeing as he knew that she wasn't going with anyone. There was a moment of silence. Crys was shaking her head "no." "Then how about going with me?"

"Gosh, I thought you would inever/i ask!" Crys squeaked. She hadn't been breathing and now it all came out in a giant "whoosh" along with a high-pitched, ecstatic giggle.

"Well, actually, I was going to ask you earlier, but you were always around that Jeremy Strong bloke. I didn't know if you two were friends or… inot/i."

"Ah… yeah…"

"And you might want to be careful. I think he's on the verge of strangling you or something," Jake said and Crys gave a nervous chuckle. Good. She understood why he was so mad at her. "Well, I guess I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall just before it starts."

"Yeah," she said, her voice floating. Jeremy sighed. The only thing that could consolidate him to what he had done was the fact that he had made her happy. He stood, deciding that it was about time to show himself once again. The two were standing just a few feet away, fairly close as she hadn't moved away from Jake when he'd helped her to her feet. Jeremy had to roll his eyes.

"Cool, I'll see you later then," Jake said as he stepped around Crys and walked towards Jeremy. "See ya, mate. And thanks," he said as he passed. Jeremy said nothing in return. As he approached Crys, she turned around, looking as if she were in heaven.

"Jerry… did he just…?"

"Mmm-hmm…" he responded, nodding. "And do you know whose fault it was that I had to put my reputation on the line and talk to iJake Marshal/i?" She looked at him sheepishly, her smile lopsided and heart melting. He couldn't be mad at her. Groaning in disgust, he threw his arm around her shoulders. "Let's go find Ari and Kunu before I strangle you," he said, making her laugh giddily.

"Hey, Jeremy…"

"Yeah?" Crys threw her arms around his waist, burying her face against his chest. He knew she was smiling and hiding it.

"He asked me to the dance!"

bA/N/b So this was originally supposed to be within the confines of Chapter 1, but it turned out to be extremely long and so I ditched that idea and split the two in half.

So R/R please. I really like knowing the bad parts about what I write. So let's say, Critique is a must. And thanks to those who do read this even tho' it's full of OCs. TTFN ya'll.

PS – I do enjoy hearing about what you like too! - Now TTFN


	3. Coming Clouds on a Sunday

bDisclaimer/b … I disclaim to the world. I don't own Hogwarts. If I did, I wouldn't be using a compie now would I? No, I would be Headmistress and transfiguring the naughty boys into hay pennies.

Jeremy absolutely ihated/i waking up before 11 on Sundays, the day being his appointed "lazy day" by Crys. So it was beyond weird that he should be in the bathroom, hair wet and only a pair of boxers as cover, before seven o'clock on that Sunday after his terrible Hogsmeade trip. He stood staring at his reflection with a hint of… revulsion in his smoky blue eyes, taking in every bit of his appearance from the blue and black polka dotted boxers that had been a gag gift from Crys and the guys to his hair that hung damply around his face. Sighing, he shook his head like a dog, sending water everywhere. Opening his eyes, he took a glance at his hair that now stuck up in every direction, and then he rolled his eyes. What was the point? His gaze left his messed up, black hair to fall beneath his eyes. It was here that he needed to worry about anyway. He reached up, placing his fingers against the cool glass of the mirror where purple shadows stood out beneath his eyes, telling of his sleepless night. Worries had kept him up, his mind never shutting down enough to give him rest. Now, he was exhausted and his eyelids felt like lead.

"I'm an idiot," he stated with disgust. He yawned, shaking his head again. Then, his decision made, he left the bathroom and entered the silent dorm. Not even the Head Boy, Theodore Wyatt, was awake, proving that he had passed the boundaries of odd. And so he collapsed into bed, deciding that sleep was much more tempting than breakfast. His eyes closed as he kicked all his blankets to the end of his bed. He was stretched out, his arms spread eagle; he was finally comfortable. Gradually, his mind finally shut down, consciousness slipping away… And then, a weight was added to the bed beside him. He didn't even bother to open his eyes, knowing by the way she immediately curled up against his side that it was Crystal.

"You smell good," she said, her breath tickling his neck as her chin dug into his shoulder. He suppressed a shudder with difficulty, trying to hide the fact that he was extremely ticklish at his neck from her.

"Maybe because I just took a shower," he mumbled sarcastically, putting a hand on her head and moving it to his chest. She paused in wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Really? So early in the morning?" she asked, lifting her head slightly to look into his face. He remained passive, his eyes refusing to open.

"Couldn't sleep." He yawned again, turning his head away from her to hide his morning breath.

"Neither could I."

Silence. Besides Ari's soft snores on the other side of the room, no one made a sound. Jeremy drifted into a doze, his breathing becoming slower and deeper. His thoughts hazed over. But Crys didn't seem to want him to sleep. She started to fidget beside him, a thought begging to surface but stifled by uncertainty. Growling in agitation, Jeremy rolled over, forcing Crys partially under him so he could stop her moving.

"What?" he asked, sharper than he had meant it to be. His eyes bore into hers, his agitation bluntly flashing through the smoky blue irises. Her eyes remained emotionless the way she normally was. She shrugged, not bothered by his simmering anger.

"I just wanted to ask… er… make sure… Yesterday wasn't a dream, was it?" Grunting in disgust, Jeremy settled down, wrapping an arm around her waist as he remained partially covering her. His head nestled into the crook of her neck.

"No. Yesterday wasn't a dream, Cryssy," he informed her with a sigh. She suppressed a smile against his forehead, curling as best she could beneath him. "I'm never going to get to sleep with you around, am I?"

"No! You will. Don't worry. The only reason I came up here is because the girls were being loud and I wanted to sleep anyway," she said quickly.

"Then stop talking," he mumbled feeling his grasps of consciousness slipping away. He definitely wasn't one who could go without sleep. Crys nodded. Within moments, they were both asleep.

The pair didn't wake up until later that day, about halfway during lunch. Dressed in her pajamas and just a random pair of jeans and t-shirts from him, Crys and Jeremy walked down to the Great Hall together, talking lightly about nothing in particular. Kunu and Ari were already at the table as they approached, deep in a conversation about something. They stopped the moment the pair got within earshot, Kunu covering everything up with a loud and cheerful greeting.

"Slept a long time, didn't you?" Kunu asked as they sat down across from them at the table.

"We both had a hard time sleeping last night," Jeremy said with a shrug, loading his plate with potato like substances that would have made a native Idahoan proud.

"Yeah, so I decided to climb in with Jerry early this morning and we fell asleep together," Crys said with a sleepy smirk.

"Better be careful. We don't want boyfriends getting jealous or anything," Ari said in a light voice, his eyes glittering. Crys choked on the pumpkin juice she had just started to sip on, her coughs covering up her sly smirk.

"What are you talking about? Jake Marshal isn't my boyfriend. He never will be. He merely asked me on a date, that's all," she said quickly, although the way she suddenly seemed to… ibeam/i was a definite hint that she liked the idea a whole lot. "But none of that matters. Did you hit upon another amazing idea, or are you sparkling for no reason?" Ari's face flushed in excitement, his eyes seeming to become brighter even as he sat there.

"I just had a really good night. About midnight I had this dream and I remembered it when I woke up and had to write it down. It had all of you in it, but the story was amazing, unlike our boring lives," he said, grinning when Kunu punched him in the shoulder.

"It's only boring to you because you're single and anti-social. Maybe if you went out and got a life, it'd be better," Kuma reprimanded. Shaking his head, Jeremy nibbled at a bit of potato thoughtfully.

"What happened in your dream?" Jeremy asked. Ari shook his head, his eyes closing for a moment. When they opened again, the sparkle hadn't left.

"You'll have to read it as I write it," he said. Suddenly, he noticed Crys whose eyes were aimed at the doors to the Great Hall. She hadn't been paying a bit of attention to the conversation at hand, her mind somewhere far away. It was obvious where she had gone, tho' when Ari turned and saw a certain quidditch team with red robes walking into the Great Hall, their hair windswept and broad grins on their faces. Ari smiled, turning back to Crys.

"Way to get distracted," he said, waving his hand in front of her face. She blinked, looking at his hand as if she were disgusted for a moment. He pointed over his shoulder at the group of boys who were discussing something, apparently not affected by the many eyes attracted to them.

"Well… I-I was just— Jeremy?" He stood, his intense gaze focused on Jake and his group of friends. Not answering, he moved away from the table, heading in a quicker pace than Jeremy ever used to the doors of the Great Hall.

"I wonder what he's doing," Ari murmured thoughtfully, his eyes slightly distant as they followed him. Kunu shrugged in response, continuing to eat like he didn't care. Crys glared.

"He had better not act like a jerk," she said, folding her arms. It was almost as if she was huffing, although she didn't seem to have a pout on her face. Her eyes never left him as he walked determinedly forward, the group not noticing him until he was right behind Arthur Blankenship's shoulder.

"Hey, Marshal—" Arthur turned quickly, startled.

"Whoa! Gosh, Strong, try making your face a little less scary in the mornings," Arthur said as he turned around, clutching his chest. The rest of the group laughed, except Jake. Jeremy snarled in response his canines showing brilliantly so he looked exactly like a vampire for just a few moments. The boys quit laughing and looked to Jake quickly.

"Go find us a seat, I'll talk to Strong," he said in his cool voice. They nodded, walking away and laughing as Arthur said something under his breath. Jeremy glared after them before looking to Marshal, their cool, composed looks paralleling each other. "Sorry about that, but you look kind of like… a vampire," he said, pointing to the shadows under Jeremy's eyes. Jer clenched his fists, but remained careless.

"Couldn't sleep," he said nonchalantly. "I needed to talk to you alone anyway."

"Yeah? What about," Jake asked, looking vaguely curious.

"About Crys."

"You said that you two weren't a couple," Jake said quickly, his face changing to defensive. Jeremy held up his hands.

"We aren't a couple. We're friends. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about." He took a deep breath, reaching up as he stood there and twisting one of the stubs he had in his ear, his other hand digging into his pocket. That he had to say this to iJake Marshal/i… "Crys is my best friend, and because she is my best friend, I love her. I want to always protect her. And if you're going to be a jerk to her and hurt her, I will come after you and make you pay." He moved forward, pushing his finger into Jake's chest. Jake remained standing in the same spot, watching Jeremy with interest.

"I can see why people get nervous around you," Jake said thoughtfully. Jeremy stepped back, blinking in surprise.

"Wha—?"

"You're really intimidating, Strong. Don't worry. I'll do my best to not hurt her," Jake said, grinning. He held out his hand. Jeremy paused. And then, he forced himself to take it, shaking it firmly. The two split, Jeremy returning to his spot at the table and Jake going off to find his friends.

It took Jeremy a full minute to realize that his friends were staring at him (along with an entire group of nosy girls surrounding their table.) Jeremy rolled his eyes and sat, his attention directed to his food. He took a bite before looking to Ari and Kunu, who watched him warily as if they didn't know what to do. They glanced to Crys, but Jeremy completely ignored the glare she was giving him.

"So, Ari, what do you think about this year's Quidditch team? You planning to beat Gryffindor?" Jeremy asked, grinning at the two as if nothing had happened. Crys tangibly snapped, her glare seeming to spark for a second.

"What did you say to him?" she asked in a slow voice as she tried to control her anger. Jeremy paused, his face falling as he slowly chewed the potatoes he'd shoveled into his mouth. When he swallowed, he looked up at the sky.

"Is it any of your business, Crys?" he asked, his voice calm and falsely sweet. Crys folded her arms, her glare intensifying. Ari and Kunu began to wonder if they should hide beneath the table.

"Well, as I am going on a date with him and you're my best friend, then yes, it is," she replied coldly. Jeremy sighed.

"I was just warning him off," he said, finally looking at her. Her anger rode over her speech, and Jeremy took the opportunity to look back at his food. There, sitting in the very middle of his potato-like substances, was a glop of bright red catsup. He scowled, looking to Ari who had grinning, although he was trying his best to hide it in case Crys chanced to look at him. "Not cool, Ari."

"Warning him off?! Jeremy! You iidiot/i!"

"Trade with me," Jeremy demanded, ignoring Crys' cries of complete outrage. Ari shook his head, his eyes averting from Crystal to Jeremy. He couldn't tell which was scarier, Jeremy's composed face or Crys' look of anger.

"Cat-Cat-sups on here, too," Ari said, motioning to his plate.

"Fine, then Kunu—"

"Jeremy! Don't ignore me!" Crys shouted, catching his face with her hands and forcing him to look at her. The area around their table went dead silent, all eyes appraising the two in the center. Yet, the two didn't seem to care or even notice. "What did you isay/i to him?"

"I told him that if he hurt you, he would be a dead man," Jeremy growled, his eyes forming into a simmering glare to match Crys'.

"You idiot!" she hissed, throwing his face away from her as if he sickened her. Sparks shot from her pale eyes, but Jeremy didn't even flinch. "You- you—You iidiot/i! I don't need you to threaten him!!"

"Look, I'm worried about you!" Jeremy said defensively, throwing his hands out in front of him. "You're my best friend, and if you get hurt, I'll be hurt as well!"

"I don't care! I don't need your help, iJeremy/i!"

"I don't care!" Jeremy shouted childishly, jumping to his feet. Crys followed so that he didn't tower over her, her hands on her hips.

"I don't care that you don't care! Stay out of my life!" she yelled, shoving him in the chest. Jeremy stood, his mouth opening several times as he worked for the best, most hurtful comment he could think of.

"Fine!" he finally yelled, his plan a failure. Any other comments were ended, however, when a hand was added to each of their shoulders, catching the fighting pair's attention.

"Stop fighting you two! Crys, he was just trying to be a good friend," Jake said, looking at her disapprovingly. Crys scoffed. "And Jerry wouldn't scare me away. I like you too much." A wave of mutters broke out, ignored by the focuses of the gossip. Jeremy scoffed before shrugging out of Jake's grasp.

"Don't call me Jerry like I'm your friend," Jeremy said, shooting a final glare at the couple before him. Then, he turned, walking away. "And I don't need your help, Marshal."

"Hey, Jer! Where are you going?" Kunu called after him, worry in his voice.

"The library," was Jeremy's short reply. He didn't even turn around. Crys remained standing as he walked away, her whole body ridged with anger. But when the Great Hall doors closed behind him, she collapsed back into her seat, her head in her hands. Jake sat down beside her, taking Jeremy's seat and putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him wearily.

"You okay?" he asked, tugging lightly on her ponytail. She shrugged and then scoffed. Slowly, her eyes changed back to their hooded selves.

"Me and Jerry haven't really fought before…" she said, her voice gentle. "Like… we've had little arguments that always ended with me getting my way and a treat from him… but he's never really… yelled at me before…" Jake said nothing. Instead he rubbed her back, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Sighing, she shrugged his hand off.

"I don't like to be touched when I'm upset," she explained, wanting him to understand. "Jerry's the only one I've ever let attempt to comfort me before."

"Of course," Jake said, smiling when she looked as if she might apologize. "I understand. I'll steer clear for the day. Go cheer him up, K?" Her lips lifted in a tiny smirk, and she put her hand on his head as she stood.

"I'll see you later then," she said. She looked to Ari and Kunu. "Sorry guys. I'll see you later to discuss the dress, mmm'K Ari?"

"Gotcha," Ari said, nodding in her direction before he turned his concentration to eating. Smirking, she left to go after Jeremy. He had long legs and could be fast when he wanted to. She was going to need to run, unfortunately.

The Astronomy Tower was completely empty as Jeremy entered, his head down and his fisted hands in his pockets. He walked slowly across the room, stopping in front of the wall. He didn't move for a full minute, his expression unreadable as the escaping hairs from his skull cap covered his face. And then, he turned almost violently, throwing himself back against the wall and sliding down it to the ground. His head fell backwards, his eyes closed tightly and his teeth bared in a grimace.

Why did it have to end like that? Why?! It made no sense… They'd always been so close before and now they were yelling at each other? But she—she! It was all her fault! She was being such… she just—he couldn't even—

"ARGH!" Jeremy yelled, slamming his fist against the ground, his hands trembling from barely controlled anger. "WHY do you have to be such an iidiot/i?!"

Jeremy let his anger wash over him for a moment, wallowing in it the way a little kid might. And then, he took a breath.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

He sighed, his hand relaxing and his eyes opening. He was calm once again. He could breath… He opened his eyes, gazing half heartedly at the ceiling. Yet he didn't see it. His thoughts were still far away.

He knew that he had been out of line. He'd never been that protective before. Not when she'd gone on all those dates their fifth and sixth year. So then, what was his problem now? Why was he so upset? He didn't want Crys dating that loser Marshal, but he didn't know iwhy/i! It was driving him insane—No, this was just irritating him again. He needed to think of something else…

His mind shifted to his stomach involuntarily, reminding himself of the meal he'd left unfinished. What a waste… and now his stomach was growling. Groaning, he tipped over, rolling onto his back so that he lay spread eagle along the wall. His eyes went to the window, gazing up at the sky longingly.

He loved the sky. It was so free and beautiful. It almost made him wish that he'd tried out for the Quidditch team just so he could spend his time in the sky…

Suddenly, a weight dropped onto his stomach. He gasped, curling inward and finding a body in his way. He opened his eyes, meeting the light teal ones of Crys who smirked down at him, her head cocked to the side so that her hair fell away from her neck. He finally managed to take a breath in, falling backwards so she could slide backwards off his stomach, her back against the wall. She continued to smirk at him triumphantly, knowing that she had managed to sneak up on him. He merely glared before he noticed, with surprise, that she was breathing hard, as if she had run all over the castle. She had to eventually stop smirking so she could take several shaky breaths.

"I should have known you wouldn't go to the library," she said sheepishly, tipping over sideways, her head landing on his chest and hugging herself tightly.

"You ran? All that way?" he asked, eyes widening. She lifted her head, nodding. The corners of her mouth lifted in a shy, genuine smile.

"I didn't want your yelling to be the last thing I heard of you." Her head fell back down against his chest just as Jeremy's face turned blood red.

Silence. Neither needed to talk. Jeremy was just happy to have her near him. Slowly, she regained the ability to breath properly, her eyes closing lazily. Jeremy stroked her hair, playing with the thick res and dark brown strands distractedly. Suddenly, she sat up, knocking his hand away from her head. He remained where he was, an eyebrow raised in surprise. smirking, she kicked at him, forcing his to move into a sitting position. Grumbling, he crossed his legs Indian style, knowing what she wanted to do. Grinning wickedly (without showing her teeth, mind you), she caught his hands, holding them close to her face so she could examine them."

"Been a while since we've had one of our wars, hasn't it?" she asked, running her finger down one of the lines in his hand. He sighed shaking his head.

"Yeah… seeing as the last one was… when?"

"The last one was about… 6 months ago when I beat you 10 times in a row," she replied, her wicked grin swelling with pride. Jeremy sneered.

"You realize the last time I played you, I was sick, right?" he said, getting in her face. She swatted him away, laughing derisively.

"iRight./i Sick from getting beat. I think you gave a total of 5 coughs through the game, but I seem to remember you being fine-and-dandy later that night when we went to that amusement park."

"I heal quickly," he said smoothly, making her laugh. "I'll pwn you now, don't worry. Thumbs or slap?"

Crys' face went dead serious as she held out her hand, waiting. "Thumbs."

"Have it your way." Their hands linked and they dramatically paused, giving each other a "terrifying" gaze. and then they both plunged into the childish chant, their voices suddenly nasal and full of laughter.

"1, 2, 3, 4! I declare a thumb war!" Crys began laughing too much, unable to remain serious when Jeremy was acting so bouncy and childish in front of her. Yet he didn't stop. With a deliriously happy expression, he continued in his nasal voice to finish the little kids' rhyme. "5, 6, 7, 8! I don't remember the rest, something, LATE!"

And then it started, both staring at the two thumbs in between them. Nothing moved. Then, Jeremy darted in, wrapping his thumb around Crys' and forcing it down against their combined fingers.

"3, 2, 1, I win!" he cheered, bouncing up and down where he sat and clapping his hands together, Crys' hand still within his grasp.

"Ow! Jerry. Not cool," she snapped, struggling to get away. he laughed triumphantly, settling down and rubbing her red hand gently.

"Told you I was going to win," he said, cackling when she glared at him.

"Again," she demanded, shifting into a more serious position. Jeremy shrugged, looking fairly relaxed. A smirk slid onto her face right before they began the childish chant. His confidence level was dangerously high. it was perfect! Once again, their thumbs froze, ready at any second to lunge or dodge. then Jeremy lunged.

If he had looked up, he would have seen a truly wicked grin plastered across her face. There was a scuffle, thumb twisting around thumb several times until Crys came out the victor. She laughed, throwing her hands in the air. Jeremy seemed to pout for a moment and then his eyes flashed. "A fluke!" he declared, poking her thigh. She just smirked in return. "A fluke! We play again and the winner of the next one is the champion."

"Fine by me," she replied, holding out her hand. Jeremy took it, his face set and dead serious. the war had to start with that chant. It was required. Then they were frozen, waiting for the move. Finally, Crys lunged. Her thumb wrapped around Jerry's but he wasn't going to loose. Instead, he jerked away, retaliating immediately as he attempted to pin her thumb. No good. their hands began to move back and forth as they struggled. First to the right than to the left. then towards Jeremy. Eventually, Crys had to stand so that she could keep up with Jeremy's long arms. Laughing, she tried to pin his thumb down once again, but he evaded her, jerking her hand so hard that she fell right into his lap.

But someone has to win.

The battle continued seemingly endlessly, with attacks evaded galore. Crys became tangled in Jeremy's arms as they battled it out between thumbs and eventually, a sidelong sissy fight. Yet Jeremy soon became tired and his defenses grew slower. Crys, on the other hand, remained laughing and cheerful through the whole thing until, finally, her thumb latched onto Jeremy's and he was pinned.

"3, 2, 1! I win! I'm the champion! I pwned you bad!" she cheered, throwing her arms into the air and stretching. Jeremy merely glared.

"You let me win the first one, didn't you?"

"I don't know. Did I?" she asked, winking. Sighing, she stood, still stretching as if a kink was in her back. Her eyes drifted out the window, catching sight of several ugly looking gray clouds. It would rain soon. How sad. "Let's go find Ari and Kunu."

"You let me win! That's not fair, Cryssy," Jeremy said, pouting as he stood as well, following Crys out of the door. Laughing, she pushed him teasingly.

"What in life is fair, baby?"

"I am inot/i a baby!"

"Then why are you whinning like one…"

Ari sighed, stretching in a very cat-like way. Before him, on the table, was his newest story outline, involving the dream he had. He found it very interesting that the events should go the way his brain wanted, however. It made very little sense to himself. But that didn't matter. It was a good story no matter what. And if he switched the characters around just a bit, the story wouldn't seem so much like their lives.

He stretched again, yawning widely before he took of his reading glasses. He let them swing in front of him lazily, his mind still mulling over his newest idea. Suddenly, he was pulled from his thought by a couple shouts.

"Hey, Ari!"

He looked towards the entrance, smiling and waving as Crys emerged, a scowling Jeremy following behind.

"You ready to get that dress started?" she asked. He nodded, rolling the pieces of parchment up and sticking them in his bag.

"Sure. Why not?"

bA/N/b so… somehow, I feel that this chapter is fairly lame and I am slightly ashamed at myself for writing something this…. lame. Ah well. It's only an establisher. I just had to get through it to get going with the story again. And seeing as I haven't posted in forever… -; heh… I have not much to say… Sorry for the lameness and the mistakes. I didn't feel like rereading it at the moment.

I'd actually appreciate it if I could find a beta-er… but that's just a wish list.

Advanced critique will be taken gratefully…

Thanks for reading my story! \-/


	4. Rain Falling and Headaches Pounding

bDisclaimer/b … I disclaim to the world. I don't own Hogwarts. If I did, I wouldn't be using a compie now would I? No, I would be Headmistress and transfiguring the naughty boys into hay pennies.

Jeremy awoke the next morning in a cold sweat, his bed sheets twisted around him. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't dreaming anymore… that he was safe. Eventually, he did remember, and his body relaxed, his eyes closing in relief.

"Ugh, what a nightmare," he groaned, putting a hand to his throbbing head.

Already, the contents of the dream were draining from his memory. But he still kept a vague grasp of what had happened in it. Jake Marshal (wearing a hula skirt and a turtle neck) and Crys (with spatulas for hair) had been laughing at him while they were making out, another girl Jeremy had randomly seen in the halls attached (literally) to Jake's waist. It was utterly ridiculous. And yet so terrifying at the same time.

He shook his head again, trying to rid himself of the image stuck in his mind, but that only sent his head into a series of even worse throbs. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Although he felt indescribably iterrible/i, he had to get up for classes some time. Might as well be now. There were only a few minutes until they all had to get up anyway.

An hour later, Jeremy was ready for the day, his headache even worse than before not mixing well with the set of clumsy mishaps he'd managed in the bathroom. And it definitely didn't improve his mood to see Jake in his seat next to Crys when he entered the Great Hall. Jeremy paused, wondering is he should really sit with them. With the way his head hurt, he was fairly tempted to skip breakfast and hide. Unfortunately, his stomach shot down that option. Muttering under his breath, he moved to the seat beside Kunu, flopping down almost dramatically and grabbing a sausage immediately. Crys looked up, a smirk lighting her face until she saw the state Jeremy was in.

"Jerry? What's wrong? You look terrible!" He looked up, a glare his response. "What? You do. You look really ipale/i."

"I'm always pale, Crys," Jeremy replied tiredly, leaning forward slightly with a piece of toast in one hand, and a sausage link shoved into the pouch of his cheek so he could talk. "That's generally what happens when you don't get enough sun." Crys rolled her eyes.

"You know that's not what I meant," she said, trying to remain calm. He was obviously shooting the, "I'm-irritated" waves towards her. "Besides, your hair. You didn't spike it today," she pointed out, her eyebrows forming into a miraculously worried look. He looked away this time, a fork hanging out of his mouth to stall his response as he "looked" for a form of bread. Impatient, Crys reached across the table, yanking the fork from Jeremy's mouth. He winced, his head falling into his hands so he could massage his temples.

"I didn't spike my hair because it hurts to touch my hair, got it?" he said, lifting his head to glare at her. Comprehension dawned and she laid the fork beck on his plate sheepishly, a look of concern on her face.

"Why don't you just go to Madame Pomfrey? It would take, what? Five seconds."

"He never wants to go to Pomfrey's, Crystal. This is iJeremy/i we're talking about," Ari said, his eyes on Jeremy only slightly concerned with what was happening.

"Ah, you're right. But, Jerry, you really should go to Pomfrey," Crys said, a look of concern on her face.

"I hate that woman, and she hates me. Bottom line is—flat out no," Jeremy said, lifting his head suddenly, and continuing to eat as if his head didn't hurt at all. Crys rolled her eyes once again at the "brave" act.

"You're an idiot sometimes, you know that?" Crys asked, picking up her own fork once again and nibbling on a piece of sausage.

"Not as much—"

"Wait a minute. Why was there just a conversation about Pomfrey? What does she have to do with anything?" Jake suddenly asked, a look of pure confusion etched on his face. Jeremy merely snorted in response, otherwise acting as if Jake hadn't spoken. Crys nearly smacked Jeremy for the childish act, instead choosing to ignore him as well, and she turned to Jake.

"Friend telepathy, sorry. Jerry has a headache, but he won't go to Pomfrey because of some stupid incident involving a snapping frog bite and Pomfrey not treating it—"

"That witch put frickin' blood tablets on an already bleeding wound I tell you. That witch isn't going to come near me," Jeremy grumbled, once again showing a childish side. Another eye roll and then Crys continued.

"Well, needless to say, the brat refuses to take any potions from the 'witch,' and so he remains in pain and extremely grumpy."

"Like you're any better when you have a headache. At least I don't bite people's heads off," Jeremy retorted.

"Well at least I go and get a potion… and you don't bite people's heads off, you act like a freakin' kid when you have a headache," she retorted in return.

"Do your headaches get that bad?" Jake asked, interrupting the conversation quickly before a temper tantrum got thrown. It worked… slightly. Jeremy went back to eating as if nothing had been said. Crys huffed, stuffing her hands into her pockets so that she didn't knock Jeremy backwards.

"Right now he only has a headache. That's usually when he acts like a little baby—"

"I don't act like a baby," Jeremy grumbled. Crys ignored him.

"He does eventually get migraines really badly, but then he refuses to talk to anyone, and he'll usually just go off by himself." Jake nodded absently, a small smile of amusement teasing the corners of his mouth.

Sighing slight, Jeremy put down his fork, needing a break from the pain chewing brought. Needing a distraction, he squinted up at the gray ceiling. "Has the post come?" he asked, trying to shield his eyes from the invisible rays of sunlight.

"No. The owls are running late today," Jake replied, his eyes focused on an important page of his Arithmacy book. When there was no response or voice of gratitude, Jake looked up, slightly surprised. Jeremy remained squinting at the ceiling, apparently still waiting for a response to his question. When no one else spoke up, he sighed, looking to Crys irritatedly.

"Hello? Had the mail come yet?" he asked, acting impatient. Crys' eyes flashed dangerously as she shot to her feet, her fork slamming down beneath her hand on the table.

"Entrance Hall. iNow/i" she hissed, leaning over the table so that their faces were merely inches apart. The close proximity caused Jeremy to flinch, but Crys didn't seem to care. Instead, she turned, stomping towards the doors leading out to the Entrance Hall, Jeremy following slowly behind.

She was waiting for him by the houses' hour glasses, her light teal eyes livid when they met Jeremy's. She didn't even wait for him to reach her.

"You childish, immature, BRAT!" she shouted. Jeremy winced, but kept a passive expression on his face. For once, Crys couldn't tell what was going on in his head and the thought infuriated her even more. "What is your problem?!"

"Nothing," he said with a shrug, a hand going to his head. Crys made a noise of disbelief.

"Then what? You were just naturally being a ujerk/u? Stop acting like your 5 years old, Jer. I don't care if you have a headache. Jake has been nothing but nice to you, but you—You're just being stupid and im-immature!"

"You done?" Jeremy asked, closing his eyes tiredly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Crys seemed to flare up at his uncaring reaction, her eyes practically blazing with her glare.

"NO! You're being such a—"

"If you're just going to call me a jerk, baby, or brat again, don't bother. I get it. You're mad at me for the way I treated Marshal, and I'm irritated. I'll see you in class," he said, turning away from her and heading up the staircase. Crys stood, speechless for a moment. Jeremy was actually acting slightly mature and he wasn't yelling… the signs all led up to one thing. Jer was in a ireally/i bad mood.

Slightly confused, Crys returned to her spot at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall, waving off the questions shot at her as she sat. Taking his queue, Ari continued a story he'd been telling earlier, his energy suddenly a lot more boisterous. Crys sighed. uWhat was happening?/u

No matter how hard he tried, Jeremy just couldn't get back to sleep. Sure, he was slumped over a desk and all, but normally, he had no problems sleeping during Defense Against the Dark Arts. Especailly when that idiot teacher, Professor Karkass started on one of his pointless lectures. It didn't matter that class hadn't started yet and people were just now filing in from breakfast. He'd been trying for a while and so he should be asleep!

Maybe he just needed to hear Prof. Karkass' voice… or for his head to ishut up/i up there!

He huffed, sitting up for a second to readjust himself before laying back down, his head pressed against a new, colder section of the table he'd happened to miss. If he hadn't been so stupid this morning, maybe he could have eaten more… That might have helped his head (and most definitely his growling stomach)… or maybe Crys would be sitting beside him right now, rubbing his neck to shut up the headache.

But ino/i! He'd gotten the best idea in the world! Why don't I make a fool of myself in front of the guy I hate and ignore him like a 5-year-old? Brilliant, Jeremy. Just brilliant. Now she was probably going to not talk to him all through class and he'd be stuck sitting by some loser who'd try to talk to him, even though he was in a bad mood. Yes, the most brilliant plan of all. Now all he needed to do was shoot himself with the Killing Curse and everything would be hunky-dory…

It was all just so istupid/i…

Suddenly, he felt someone sit beside him, their books added to the table with a slam. He winced, but otherwise didn't move. Maybe if he didn't acknowledge their presence, they'd leave him alone. It seemed to have the opposite affect however. The person leaned towards him instead, their soft, icold/i fingers digging into his neck and rubbing in small circles. Jeremy let out a moan of relief, his head falling over sideways so that his cheek was pressed to the desk top as Crys continued to work.

"You're contradicting me again, Crys," Jeremy mumbled, remembering to swallow just in time. He was saved from the embarrassing action of drooling… for the time being.

Sighing, Crys laid her head beside Jeremy's on the desk, smiling at his hair. "This doesn't mean I've forgiven you," she said, smirking slightly. Jeremy shrugged.

"I don't really care right now…"

Thankfully, Jeremy managed to sleep through the first two hours of the day while Prof. Karkass lectured them on the theory of sparkling vampires, and how, in real life, vampires turned to dust in sunlight as a proven fact (how this relates to defense against the dark arts I have no earthly clue, but there will probably be a test over it later…). Unfortunately, his sleeping led to more bad dreams, only in these ones, Jake was the knight in shining armor off to save the beautiful vampire, Jeremy Strong, who was being held captive by an elegant Crystal dragon. When he woke up, it was to find that his headache had been ditched for a migraine, and Crys had already gone off to walk with Jake. From Defense Against the Dark Arts, Jeremy met up with Kunu and Ari and the trio followed the new couple to Charms. Here Jeremy found he had no break as Flitwick had them practicing silent summoning spells. While Kunu and Air found the spells incredibly simple, Jeremy began to realize that thinking only hurt his head. By the end of the class period, he had landed himself in detention that night to clean the charms classroom without magic.

Even more irritated with the annoying day, Jeremy entered the Great Hall, his stomach growling with lack of sufficient food. Crys had disappeared and so Jeremy took her seat, immediately reaching for a roll and tearing off the top in one sweep.

"Hungry?" Ari asked, a smile bright on his too cheerful face even while he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"You saw how much breakfast I had this morning," Jeremy replied sharply, his face scrunched up as he attempted to chew without the bolts of pain.

"I would have thought you'd be used to it," Kunu said, pointing his fork at Jeremy almost accusingly. He scoffed in return, almost choking on a large mouthful of shepherd's pie.

"Yesterday was the only other day, but seriously… we need to stop fighting at breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day," Jeremy said in agreement, forking another full mouthful of pie into his face as he tried to cram the rest of a half eaten roll in with the mix.

"Strong! Drop that fork!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, the fork remaining in his hands to show that he didn't care. He knew that voice, but he really didn't want to deal with the little midget at the moment… The group of approaching boys stopped as their leader faltered, sensing the black aura around his idol. Then, noticing all the eyes he'd attracted from his shout, the boy set out again, suddenly determined. Jeremy managed to swallow just as he reached his shoulder.

"What do you want, Cason?" Jeremy asked wearily, putting a much smaller bite in his mouth as he continued to eat. Cason pouted at Jeremy's obvious lack of caring.

"I iwant/i to challenge you to a contest," Cason whined, pointing at the table and all the food.

"No."

Cason paused, looking hopefully to Ari and Kunu. They attempted to wave him away, but when he realized that they were going to be no help, he looked back to Jeremy.

"Aw, come on, Jer! You never turn down a food competition," Cason said, the puppy-dog eyes turning on. Jeremy rolled his (and regretted it).

"No's a no. Leave me alone."

"Chicken!" Cason said, dramatically pointing at Jeremy. Jer put another forkful of food in his mouth to prove that he was ignoring the little 3rd year Ravenclaw. Once again, the pout appeared, his arms crossing across his chest as he thought. The boy standing beside Cason put a hand on his shoulder, shaking Cason slightly.

"Come on, Case. He doesn't want to compete," Cason's best friend, Luca said, glaring slightly at Jeremy as he spoke. Jer pretended not to notice. Ignoring his best friend, Cason once again pointed, his eyes directed towards Jeremy's hair.

"Hey! Why isn't your hair spiked? You always spike oyur hair." Jeremy put down his fork, his irritation suddenly getting to him.

"Maybe it's the same reason I don't want to compete," Jeremy said, in a barely controlled voice. "So why don't you just shut up and go awa—"

"Mr. Strong!" The group in front of Jeremy scattered, making way for Professor Karkass. Jeremy met the glare on the wrinkled old man's face with his own glare.

"iYes/i, Carcass? What do you want?" Jeremy asked, not caring anymore.

"It's Professor Karkass!" the prof snapped, his anger dominating the expression on his face. "Disrespect, disturbances at meal times, and sleeping in my class. Mr. Strong. I think this deserves a detention."

"What?! Professor!" Jeremy cried, slamming his hand down on the table. "I- I—That 'disturbance' wasn't even my fault!"

"And yet, you were at the middle of it, as usual. So how am I to believe you?" Karkass asked, a very Filchish look crossing his old face.

"Sir, I already have a detention," Jeremy said, wracking his brains for a way to get out of this and finding absolutely nothing in his lovely state. What he would give to be able to ithink/i. "Besides, you've never gotten mad at me for sleeping in your class before so—" He heard a slap of a hand against forehead from beside him as he watched Karkass' face fall with is outrage.

"iBefore/i? Do you mean to tell me you've slept in my class before?" he asked, his voice soft and dangerous. Jeremy winced, for once, not out of pain.

"Erm… what would you say if I said no?" Jeremy asked. Karkass smirked, making his already twisted face even uglier.

"I'd tell you, Tuesday and Thursday, my classroom, 5 o'clock sharp."

Nodding, a triumphant look on his face, Karkass walked away, his hands behind his back. Anger shot through Jeremy at the unfairness of the verdict, and he sent a rude gesture Karkass' way when he could move again.

"Better eat fast," Ari said, a sickening look of pity coming over his face. "With the way your day is going, who knows when you'll eat next."

"Well, I know not tonight. Flitwick gave me a detention at 5:30 and that only gives me less than a half hour to snarf something down."

Lunch ended with Crys never appearing on the scene and Jeremy's head pounding a lot less now that a part of him was appeased. His mood wouldn't get better, however, as he wouldn't see Crys in his next class either and so had no friend to appeal to for comfort. Astronomy, while normally Jeremy's favorite subject and class, had absolutely no appeal for him with the way he felt. So it was with great reluctance that he left the Great Hall to endure a full hour with giggling girls he was normally happy to be surrounded by and a one Jake Marshal. It is unsurprising, then, that he should get there just as the bell rang.

"You were almost late, Mr. Strong," Professor Hipkiss said cheerfully from his normal spot in front of the classroom. "So how about two points to Ravenclaw for a miraculous save?

"Heh… thanks, Hipkiss," Jeremy managed, his face scrunched slightly in an almost smile until his head dropped to his desk, his forehead pressed to the cold wood. Yes, his headache was leaving. That was a very good sign. But still… Crys hadn't been at lunch, and he couldn't help but think terrible things involving Crystal and Jake Marshal.

"You okay, Jer?" a quiet voice asked him just off to his right, and he turned his head so he could look his Astronomy buddy in the eye. Heather smiled worriedly, putting her head down in her arms so that they were eye level.

"Yeah, Heather. I'm okay…" he said, smiling slightly for her. Her grin widened in response, but he knew that she didn't believe him. Heather, always the skeptic. It gave the sunny, perky blonde a very interesting twist. Hence why he had befriended her. It also helped that she was Luca's sister and so information about what Cason was doing to idolize Jeremy next always got passed back to him.

"Good… So, it looks like Daddy forgot to prepare a lesson last night again," she said, looking up at her father lovingly as he talked to the group of girls closest to his desk. He laughed loudly, 

his round tummy bouncing with it. Heather's smile widened in adoration before she looked back at Jeremy. "That should give your head a rest."

"I swear, between you and Crys, I can't hide anything," Jeremy said, closing his eyes with a smile. Heather laughed.

"Isn't that why you have best friends. To never keep secrets?" Heather asked. Jeremy nodded.

"I guess so…"

"Yup. So now that we're in agreement, the headache isn't the only thing that's killing your mood. You're angry about something."

"I've known you too long," Jeremy said, looking away from her. She giggled.

"I thought we were already in agreement. I know you like the back of my hand. And I'm an expert Jerry reader as Crys has told me. Something's making you mad, and I want to know about it… tho' I probably won't be able to do much about it."

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing anyone can do about it… Ever since Crys started going out with Marshal, we've been really… not getting along? I know it's all my fault, but I can't help it. There's something about that guy…"

"I think it's jealousy," Heather said, her clear eyes focused on Jeremy. He sat up, glaring at her.

"Why would I be jealous? She's my best friend. That's as close as we come," he said, his eyebrow raised. There was a roll of thunder from outside that caused Jeremy to shudder, but other than that, the pair in the corner of Professor Hipkiss' classroom ignored the sound.

"Well, if you're not going to admit it, then maybe it's just because he's taking away the time you want her to spend with you. I mean, a new boyfriend… Remember when I started going out with that dweeb Lexington?" Jeremy nodded, wondering how this related to Crys and Jake. Unless she was suggesting that Jake resembled Lexington…

"When we first started going out, all I wanted to do was spend time with him. Then I realized that a lot of the people I usually talked to were starting to get mad at me. I realized that I needed to balance them out."

Dang, he didn't get to punch Jake Marshal now… Jeremy sighed, and waved her on, showing that he understood.

"I think subconsciously, you thought you were going to loose her and so you've been acting like an idiot because of it. And it iis/i all your fault, Jer. You keep acting like a looser at breakfast and a lot of people see it. Which I suggest you stop doing. We don't want Jake Marshal winning because you've been pushing Crys away…" Jeremy rolled his eyes, his head resting on his arms as he pouted.

"Jeremy?"

"Look, I know. You're probably right seeing as you're always right. But let's just drop it… Has Teddy been talking to you lately?" Heather frowned, a glare furrowing her eyebrows. Jeremy grinned.

"No… You're such a nosy old woman, Jer. Seriously, tho', he'll speak when I ask him things, but he refuses to start a conversation. Even when we have Heads duties. He'll walk beside me in a completely awkward and fidgety silence without even trying to talk. It's slightly irritating…"

"And yet…" Jeremy prodded, knowing what she was going to say next, but loving her uncomfortable fidgeting.

"And yet… I still like him. I don't get it!" Jeremy cackled like a little school girl, a look of pure evil on his face. "Oh shut up! Do you want me to bring that headache back?" Jeremy stopped, his face suddenly thoughtful.

"That's right… my head does hurt," Jeremy said, putting a hand to his temple and wincing again. Heather merely rolled her eyes.

"You're pathetic, Jer," she said. He grinned.

"And yet you love me."

"I have no idea why…"

With Heather's help, Jeremy managed to abandon his headache in Astronomy, and the rest of the day flew by. In fact, he'd never been so sad to hear the bell ring at the end of Transfiguration. Of course, Crys had been in that class… but still. From Transfiguration, Jeremy ditched his friends, speeding ahead of them to the Great Hall so he could get as much food as possible before he had to go to his detention.

The detention was incredibly difficult as the slime he'd created in Flitwick's room earlier hadn't been cleaned up, but had been left to rot while the other classes went to another classroom. It took him hours to scrub the mess away under the strict supervision of Filch, and when it finally did all end at eleven that night, Jeremy found he was too tired to do anything but strip down to his underwear and crawl into bed that night. Unfortunately, he realized too late that he wasn't alone in the bed.

At the feeling of someone's back against his, Jeremy shot to a sitting position, his wide eyes landing on a the curled body of… Crystal. Sighing in relief, Jeremy put a hand on her arm, gently shaking her awake. Slowly, she came to.

"Oh, Jeremy… I was waiting for you," she said as she sat up, her hands clutching a small bundle in her lap.

"I can't believe Teddy let you in," Jeremy said, moving so that he sat beside her once again, his back against the headboard. Crys smirked.

"He doesn't know. I snuck in after he went to sleep," she replied. Her eyes fell on the little bundle she'd been holding. "Oh yeah…" She picked it up, dumping it unceremoniously in Jeremy's lap. "I figured you wouldn't have gotten enough food at dinner, so I brought you a midnight snack. Didn't expect it to be literally midnight tho'…"

Jeremy laughed, unwrapping what he recognized as a napkin and pulling out several rolls. Smiling brightly, he handed one to her. "Thanks. I needed this," he said as he bit into one. While it wasn't warm any more, it was still just as fluffy, and the fact made him shudder out of pure happiness.

All was quite as the two ate, listening to the steady pattering of rain against the window. It was so soothing… Jeremy had to remind himself not to fall asleep right there.

"Hey, Jerry?"

"Yeah," he asked, tossing the napkin over the edge of the bed and brushing away the crumbs that had fallen. Crys paused, watching Jeremy work at making himself comfortable. Brush the crumbs, close the curtains, throw the covers to the end of the bed, brush off more crumbs, and then lay down… she loved watching him. It was always so amusing, no matter how many times she saw the same ritual. "You gonna answer or not?" he asked when he was comfortable, his hand coming up to knock Crys in the head.

"Were you… were you ignoring me today?"

"Of course not," he said quickly, his eyes opening again even tho' he was tired. "Why would I ignore you?"

"I just didn't… see you all day… and then, before I knew it, you were going everywhere and just leaving me behind and not telling me…"

"Ah yeah, sorry. I had detention. You should have known tho'. I got it from Flitwick after the stunt I pulled in Charms. Apparently, he thought I did it on purpose," Jeremy explained, tugging her so that she laid down beside him. They faced each other on their sides, their knees touching. If Jeremy wasn't careful, the sound of the rain outside was going to send him to sleep while he was talking.

"Oh yeah… I forgot. It's just… I guess I haven't been spending a lot of time with you, huh?"

"No, you haven't," Jeremy agreed, slowly closing his eyes. "But, now you're the one who sounds like a little kid. Just go to sleep."

Silence. Jeremy was almost there. Then—

"You don't hate me, do you?" Jeremy opened his eyes, irritated.

"You gave me food, you're my best friend, and I haven't kicked you out yet, what do you think?" he asked. Crys sighed and looked away. She knew he was right… but she didn't want to admit it. Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Crys, I've just had a really bad day, okay. I could never hate you. Just go to sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning." When she still wouldn't look at him, Jeremy sighed. Then, he rolled her over to him, so that her back was to him.

"Go to sleep," he murmured, hugging her around the waist. She sighed, her eyes closing and a small smile lit her face for a few brief moments.

"Thanks, Jerry," she whispered, twisting slightly in his arms to a more comfortable position. He didn't respond. He was asleep. Her smile grew for a moment, coming close to showing her teeth. And then she snuggled down into the pillows, her breaths deepening until she was completely asleep as well.


End file.
